The couple, though, have been in training for the past year. On Saturday, they joined other recruits along with a returning cast of experienced volunteers for an open house of sorts to kick off preparations for hurricane season, which begins June 1.

After Katrina, the Greater Palm Beach Area Chapter of the American Red Cross got 800 new volunteers, said Mary Blakeney, emergency services director.

The agency, expecting 150 volunteers to come Saturday, wants to see how many recruits stick to it. Shelter sign-up began Saturday, and a disaster drill is planned for June 10.

"The way we look at [it] is we can never stop recruiting volunteers," Blakeney said. "You can never have too many volunteers."

Grace Kneuer, 75, of Juno Beach, has been volunteering for a few years. Shelter work can be stressful, but it's definitely satisfying, she said.

After Hurricane Frances, Kneuer and her husband, Jack, were among approximately 1,300 people staying at William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens. After four straight days, conditions were less than ideal: Food was running out and toilets were backing up.

But Kneuer wasn't deterred. She likes to look on the positive side: "We feel like we're doing something. If not, who's going to do it? Somebody's got to do it."

Juanita Coar, 51, of Boynton Beach, sees it the same way. Her first assignment as a new volunteer was cleaning bathrooms at the Park Vista High School shelter west of Boynton Beach. But Coar didn't mind.

"Wherever asked to serve, you serve," she said, crediting her strong Christian beliefs as the reason she first volunteered. "It's extremely rewarding. That's why I'm back this year."

Eventually, Coar went from scrubbing floors to serving as shelter manager on a graveyard shift, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., at the Palm Meadows Training Center west of Boynton Beach, where more than 200 New Orleans evacuees took shelter.

"I did a lot of listening," Coar said. "At that hour, people could not sleep and just needed to talk to someone."

With several years of robust hurricane activity forecast, Red Cross officials want the volunteers to build on the teamwork practiced during past shelter duty. Volunteers are also signing up for training to hone their skills, Blakeney said.

Marty Sullivan, 77, of West Palm Beach, is on his second year as a volunteer. He finished training last year just days before Hurricane Wilma struck. He was stationed at Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, registering people, showing them where to go and running messages.

"I felt it was a worthwhile thing and wanted to come back," Sullivan said.

Patty Pensa can be reached at ppensa@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6609.

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING?

The local chapter of the American Red Cross is looking for shelter workers, licensed mental-health workers and nurses and volunteers for the mobile feeding units and its speakers bureau.